INTRODUCTION TO LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA)

1. INTRODUCTION TO LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT(LCA) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency & Science Applications International Corporation LCAccess - LCA 101, 2001 http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/lcaccess/lca101.htm.2 Pusan National University Feb 2004

2. Ch. 1. LCA CONCEPTS

3. Contents 1.1. What is Life Cycle Assessment? 1.2. What Are Benefits of Conducting LCA? 1.3. Limitations of Conducting LCA.

4. 1.1 What is Life Cycle Assessment ? • Industries and businesses assess how their activities affect the environment. • Society concerns natural resource depletion and environmental degradation.

5. Many businesses seek “greener” products and processes • to minimize their effects on environment beyond compliance • using pollution prevention strategies & environmental management systems.

6. One such tool is called life cycle assessment (LCA), • considers the entire life cycle of a product, • “cradle-to-grave” approach for assessing industrial systems.

7. LCA starts gathering of raw materials from the earth to create the product and ends at the point when all materials are returned to the earth.

8. Interdependent, • Estimation of cumulative environmental impacts, • Provides comprehensive view.

9. LCA definition • LCA is to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with product, process, or service by :

10. 1. Compiling inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases (Life cycle inventory);

11. 2. Evaluating potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases as on wastes, human health and ecological burdens (Life cycle impact assessment);

12. 3. Interpreting and communicating the results to help make more informed decision (Life cycle interpretation).

13. Exhibit 1-1. Life cycle stages

14. Exhibit 1-1 Life Cycle Stages (Source : EPA, 1993)

15. LCA Processes 1. Goal Definition and Scoping - Define and describe the product, process or activity. Establish the context in which the assessment is to be made and identify the boundaries and environmental effects to be reviewed for the assessment.

16. 2. Inventory Analysis - Identify and quantify energy, water and materials usage and environmental releases (e.g., air emissions, solid waste disposal, wastewater discharge).

17. 3. Impact Assessment - Assess the human and ecological effects of energy, water, and material usage and the environmental releases identified in the inventory analysis.

18. 4. Interpretation - Evaluate the results of the inventory analysis and impact assessment to select the preferred product, process or service with a clear understanding of the uncertainty and the assumptions used to generate the results.

19. Exhibit 1-2. Faces of LCA

20. Life Cycle Assessment Framework Exhibit 1-2. Phases of an LCA(Source:ISO,1997)

21. 1.2 What Are Benefits of Conducting LCA? • Help decision-makers select the product or process in the least impact to environment. • Used with cost and performance data to select a best product or process.

22. LCA data identifies transfer of environmental impacts : from one media to another (e.g., air to water) : from one life cycle stage to another

23. Researchers • Develop a systematic evaluation of environmental consequences associated with a given product. • Analyze the environmental trade-offs associated with one or more specific products/processes to help gain stakeholder (state, community, etc.) acceptance for a planned action. • Quantify environmental releases to air, water, and land in relation to each life cycle stage and/or major contributing process. • Assist in identifying significant shifts in environmental impacts between life cycle stages and environmental media.

24. Researchers • Assess the human and ecological effects of material consumption and environmental releases to the local community, region, and world. • Compare the health and ecological impacts between two or more rival products/processes or identify the impacts of a specific product or process. • Identify impacts to one or more specific environmental areas of concern.

25. 1.3 Limitations of Conducting LCA • Performing an LCA can be resource and time intensive.

26. The availability of data, the time necessary to conduct the study, and the financial resources required against the projected benefits of the LCA.

27. LCA will not determine which product or process is the most cost effective or works the best and study should be used as one component of a more comprehensive decision.

28. Ch. 2. GOAL DEFINITION & SCOPING

29. Contents 2.1 What is Goal Definition and Scoping 2.2 How Does Goal Definition and Scoping Affect the LCA Process 2.3 Getting started 2.4 Define the Goal(s) of the Project 2.5 Determine What Type of Information Is Needed to Inform the Decision-Makers.

30. 2.6 Determine How the Data Should Be Organized and the Results Displayed. 2.7 Determine What Will or Will Not Be Included in the LCA. 2.8 Determine the Required Accuracy of Data 2.9 Determine Ground Rules for Performing Work

31. 2.1 What is Goal Definition and Scoping? • The phase of the LCA process that defines the purpose and method including life cycle environmental impacts into the decision-making process.

32. Type of information needed to add value to the decision-making process, • How accurate the results must be to add value, • How the results should be interpreted and displayed to be meaningful and usable.

33. 2.2 How Does Goal Definition and Scoping Affect the LCA Process? • It will determine the time and resources needed. • It will guide the entire process to ensure that the most meaningful results are obtained. • It impacts either how the study will be conducted or relevance of final results.

34. 2.3 Getting Started 1. Define the Goal(s) of the Project. 2. Determine What Type of Information Is Needed to Inform the Decision-Makers. 3. Determine How the Data Should Be Organized and the Results Displayed. 4. Determine What Will or Will Not Be Included in the LCA. 5. Determine the Required Accuracy of Data. 6. Determine Ground Rules for Performing the Work.

35. 2.4 Define the Goal(s) of the Project • Primary goal : to choose the best product, process or service with the least effect on humane health and environment.

36. Examples of Secondary Goals • To prove one product is environmentally superior to a competitive product. • To identify stages within the life cycle of a product or process where a reduction in resource use and emissions might be achieved. • To determine the impacts to particular stakeholders or affected parties.

37. To establish a baseline of information on a system’s overall resource use, energy consumption, and environmental loadings. • To help guide the development of new products, processes, or activities toward a net reduction of resource requirements and emissions.

38. 2.5 Determine What type of Information is Needed to Inform the Decision-Makers. • What is the impact to particular interested parties and stakeholders? • Which product or process causes the least environmental impact quantifiably overall or in each stage of its life cycle?

39. How will changes to the current product/process affect the environmental impacts across all life cycle stages? • Which technology or process causes the least amount of acid rain, smog formation, or damage to local trees (or any other impact category of concern)?

40. How can the process be changed to reduce a specific environmental impact of concern (e.g., global warming)? • Determine the types of information needed to answer the questions.

41. 2.6 Determine How the Data Should be Organized and the Results Displayed • functional unit : appropriately describes the function of product/process being studied. • Comparisons between products /processes based on same function, quantified by the same functional unit.

42. true substitutes for each other. • improve the accuracy and usefulness of results.

43. Example “Functional unit” Comparing two types of wall insulation to determine environmental preferability must be evaluated on the same function, the ability to decrease heat flow. Six square feet of 4-inch thick insulation Type A is not necessarily the same as six square feet of 4-inch thick insulation Type B.

44. Insulation type A may have an R factor equal to 10, whereas insulation type B may have an R factor equal to 20. Therefore, type A and B do not provide the same amount of insulation and cannot be compared on an equal basis. If Type A decreases heat flow by 80%, you must determine how thick Type B must be to also decrease heat flow by 80%.

45. 2.7 Determine What will or will not be Included in the LCA • Assess the goal of the study, the required accuracy of the results, and the available time and resources (Exhibit 2-1) (EPA 1993).

46. Raw Materials Acquisition Removal of raw materials and energy sources from the earth & transportation.

47. 2. Manufacturing Materials Manufacture : convert raw materials into finished product. Product Fabrication : process manufactured material into a product that is ready to be filled or packaged.

48. Filling/Packaging/Distribution: finalizes the products and prepares them for shipment including transportation to retail outlets or directly to the consumer.

49. 3. Use/Reuse/Maintenance Consumer’s actual use, reuse, maintenance of the product. Energy demands and environmental wastes from both product storage and consumption.

50. 4. Recycle/Waste Management Energy requirements and environmental wastes associated with disposition of the product or material.